How Do Foodies Go Gluten-Free?

I have had several friends go gluten-free and we tried at my husband's doctor's suggestion for a short time.  It's a challenging endeavor.  You have to completely change how you cook and eat.  I have a very good friend who's done an amazing job doing that because her husband has celiacs.  In her case, she needs a lot of family food recipes.  But, if you aren't cooking for a family and you are looking for more gourmet recipes with complicated tastes, then what do you do?  

Well, a few weeks ago, a new cookbook arrived in the mail.  It was The Complete Gluten-Free Whole Grains Cookbook by Judith Finlayson.  

If you are an adult who has just been diagnosed with celiacs or gluten intolerance or a gluten allergy and you love to cook, then this may be a great cookbook for you.  Who this cookbook is not for?  Parents with little kids (like me).  The recipes in this cookbook draw on a wide variety of gourmet flavors and combinations.  In the beginning, there is a section about how to cook and store gluten-free whole grains including corn, amaranth, buckwheat, millet, oats, quinoa, sorghum, and different varieties of rice.  What I especially like about this section is that the author explains how to cook many of them with a rice cooker, microwave, or slow cooker which makes it seem much more doable to cook these grains I'm not used to. 

The recipes are unusual.  They include a wide range of flavors, as I mentioned before.  In the breakfast section, you'll find a recipe for almond-flavored millet with cherries.  In the main dish section, you'll find southwestern turkey stew with cornmeal dumplings and salmon and wild rice cakes with avocado-chili topping.  For flours, she relies primarily on sorghum, tapioca, a little rice, and coconut.  Xanthum gum is also an ingredient you'll need for many of the recipes in this cookbook, though in very small amounts.  I found it to be most affordable to purchase Bob's Red Mill's Xanthum Gum at our local grocery store when it was on special one week for $6 a pound. I was surprised that sorghum was often the author's choice for flour.  My good friend explained to me that sorghum does have a distinct flavor that you have to get used to if you haven't cooked with it before.  So, if the sorghum flour isn't to your liking, I would try a substitution before giving up on a particular recipe.  I read on one blog that you can substitute white rice flour for sorghum, but that the author of that blog found this to make for blander recipes.  

Unfortunately for me, I can't say that I tried any of these recipes and that's because I know my little kids, who are normally my taste testers aren't quite as experimental as these recipes.  My plan was for my husband to be my taste tester, but that also didn't work out when he decided to not stay on the gluten-free track.  But, we have lots of foodie friends and I know from our conversations with them that these recipes would be right up their alleys. 

So, if you're a foodie who can't have gluten now--I'd try this cookbook!  Amazon does not have a preview available of the cookbook, but you can find one HERE on Robert Rose's website.

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this cookbook for review from the Robert Rose Publishing.

Soup!

The best food for winter meals is soup.  I didn't grow up eating soup much.  Southern California weather and wearing shorts on Christmas Day.   But, now that I live where it snows and is cold throughout the winter, I love soup.  It warms one's bones on a chilly day.

Since I didn't grow up eating soup, I don't exactly have a lot of family soup recipes to make regularly.  I've found a few along the way from Simply in Season and America's Test Kitchen's Family Cookbook.  

But, when I saw a cookbook titled 300 Sensational Soups, I was very excited to try some new soups!

This cookbook by Carla Snyder and Meredith Deeds is packed with easy to follow recipes and great pictures.  It's published by Robert Rose Publishing and as usual they've done a great job making this cookbook easy to cook from.  

I made two soups and my mom made one.  The first soup I made was a corn chowder with ham.  I used some leftover ham cooked in my crockpot a few weeks ago.  My family gobbled up the soup and we had only enough leftovers for one bowl.  

The second soup I made was the Wild Mushroom and Orzo Soup with Italian Meatballs.  The soup was rich and flavorful.  I would recommend diluting it a little bit though.  We found it almost too strong.  The meatballs in the soup were spiced wonderfully and yummy.  My pickiest eater wouldn't eat it, but mushrooms aren't a vegetable she's willing to eat.  

My mom made the Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup.  She found it to be too thick and very mild.  Many of the soups do call for heavy cream.  She was surprised that she didn't like it more.

This is one of those cookbooks that gives you great recipes to start with.  Adjust the thickness and flavors to your family's tastes.  With the corn chowder, I used frozen corn.  With the wild mushroom soup, I substituted regular white mushrooms.  These are more affordable substitutions for me that don't sacrifice a lot of flavor.  I also often substitute milk plus some butter for half and half.  1 cup milk plus 3 Tbsp. butter can be substituted for 1 cup half and half.  1 cup half and half can be substituted for 1 cup of heavy cream to help make a recipe lighter and healthier.  

If you're looking for a soup cookbook with yummy recipes, I'd definitely check this one out!

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this cookbook for review from Robert Rose Publishing.  

Coping with Food Allergies

Recently the husband of a good friend of mine was diagnosed with celiacs.  It feels as if I am meeting more and more people who have special diets.  I have watched from afar as my friend has just jumped right in.  Her whole family is eating differently to make it easier on her husband because of his need to take gluten and lactose out of his diet.  I have been so impressed with her dedication and her efforts to love her husband well.

As a host, I want to love our guest well when they come into our home.  I want to understand what I need to watch out for.  In my mind, food allergies are different than being a picky eater.  I remember trying to accommodate one picky eater who came to our home on New Year's Eve 9 years ago.  I changed my main dish just for her and then it turned out that she didn't like that either!  I couldn't do anything more.  But, food allergies are much more serious.  My friend's husband has to miss a day of work if he eats the wrong thing.

So, I was excited when I got the chance to review The Total Food Allergy Health and Diet Guide for review.  This book was by Alexandra Anca, a registered dietician, with Dr. Gordon L. Sussman, a medical doctor.  It is a chockful of information!  This book covers various food allergies, associated health conditions, the diagnosis of food allergies, managing the allergies, what products to watch out for, and then recipes.  Half of this book is recipes, which is the part I most wanted.

I found the information about allergies informative.  If I was starting down the road to food allergy testing, this book would provide good explanations of allergies vs. intolerances, how to understand different types of testing, and what I need to watch out for.  One note the author does make strongly, which I agree with, is that elimination diets shouldn't be started without medical supervision and advice.  We can unintentionally take nutrients out of our diets without making up for them.  The first half is full of charts and medical information.  But, if you or someone close to you has a food allergy, this information would be very important to have.

I have reviewed one or 2 gluten free cookbooks before.  The mix of flours used has always been very expensive, which has deterred me.  That was something I noticed right away with this cookbook.  The baking ingredients are much more doable--both to find and afford.  I made the applesauce muffins for my friend, her husband, and another gluten-free friend.  I did substitute cranberries for the raisins because I didn't have sulfur free raisins.  They were all very impressed!  Both families wanted the recipe and said they were better by far than other gluten free muffins they'd had.  The recipe did specify things like gluten free baking soda and gluten free vanilla.  I had to buy a new container of Clabber Girl and my Costco vanilla was labeled gluten free.  

As I looked through the other recipes, I was pleased.  The recipes are ones I'd make for company and are simple enough to prepare.  I wanted this book so that I could be a good host and make meals that everyone will eat when we have gluten free guests.   

If you're looking for a general food allergy book to help you cope with multiple food allergies in your family, or if you are like me and need some recipes when you have guests with food allergies over, then this is a very informative and helpful book!

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book from Robert Rose publishing for review.

Flavorful Crock Pot Recipes

Everyone I know loves their crockpots.  They love the idea of putting everything in a pot, leaving to cook, and coming back in the evening to a prepared meal!  I love this idea!  

BUT, I've tried so many crock pot cookbooks over the years.  They always seem to produce the same results--palatable, but bland meals.  So, you can imagine my hope when I saw 150 best Indian, Thai, Vietnamese & more Slow Cooker recipes by Sunil Vijayakar.  When the cookbook arrived and I opened it up, I was pleased.  The formatting was so easy to read and follow.  There was a heat rating for each recipe.  The pictures were appealing, though I noticed that they photographed ingredients as well as dishes.  Curries strike me as not the most photogenic of dishes.  Several of the recipes do require various curry pastes.  I chose to fix several recipes which did not use them.  


The first recipe I tried was The Bombay Chicken Curry.  My mom, who came to live with us last October, has told me before that she doesn't like curries.  But, I knew my husband loves them, so I hoped she would enjoy it.  Before I go any farther, my whole family (husband, me, my mom, 3 kids...) all loved it!  The curry powder I use is mild and it was a very mild curry, but my husband was able to spice it up with cayenne.  If your whole family loves spicy food, just add more spice while you're putting the recipe together.


So, the my first recipe I tried was a great success!


My mother in law happens to be a vegan who loves curries, so I invited her over for lunch after church and tried two more recipes--a sweet potato curry and a cauliflower curry.  These two curries were well liked by all of the adults in the room, though not as favored by my children.  I think it was the looks of the curries that put them off a bit.  The cauliflower curry looked unusual and children are quick to judge foods by how they look.  I did make some small substitutions on these recipes.  I wanted the sweet potato curry to be milder, so I substituted some Ancho Chile powder for the 2 hot chiles that the recipe calls for.  I didn't make any alterations to the other recipe.


I would make both of them again.  My husband felt very good about eating so many vegetables.  


There is only one caveat I want to mention--I read another reader's review of this cookbook and it mentioned sticking to the cooking times for the recipes.  I took this advice and I'm glad that I did.  I did modify the cooking temp (high/low) and time based on what I know of my crockpots--I do not have a medium sized one. I have a large and a small.  My small cooks fast and the large one cooks slower.  I would recommend doing the same for your crockpot.  Notice how they cook--fast or slow--is the food mushy for the time in the recipes?  Then decrease the time or switch the temp to low from high.  


It is rare to find flavorful crock pot recipes, but I believe this cookbook contains some!  I feel like a schoolgirl who wants to stand up and yell, "Yippee!  Yippee!"  I am so thankful to add this cookbook to my collection.  It has refueled my hope that I can find even more truly flavorful crock pot recipes.  This cookbook by Sunil Vijayakar is a great find!

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this cookbook from Robert Rose Publishing for review.

Rosemary Chicken Tacos

I have a lot of cookbooks on my shelves and often people ask me if I cook from every one of them.  I don't.  Some I use for just a few recipes that are really yummy.  One of my cookbooks has a recipe for chocolate chip cookies just like the ones you buy in Costco.  I keep it on my shelf just for that recipe.  Last month, I got a new Taco cookbook.  My husband's favorite foods are tacos and pasta with red sauce.  In our house, Tuesdays are taco night.  So, when I saw a cookbook all on tacos--300 best taco Recipes by Kelley Cleary Coffeen, I thought my husband would love it!

What I found with this cookbook is that it made my mouth water and it made me want to cook.  It also sparked my imagination.  In the beginning is a great description of all the different ways to warm or fry tortillas.  Her list of equipment and ingredients was very helpful.  As I read through the cookbook, I recognized my mom's beef taquito recipe.  She uses variations of this recipe for both chicken and beef taquitos or rolled tacos.  These were a family tradition in my house around Christmas time that I miss.  I highly recommend making some of these with some guacamole!  There are several great sections of appealing pictures--that will of course make you want to have some tacos very soon.  There is also a great variety of sauces and salsas in that section of the book.  It didn't have everything I've ever wanted to make when it comes to salsa, but it had some fun ideas and we enjoyed the Citrusy Lime Salsa I made.  


Now for some specific notes...
1) My family has been frying corn tortillas for years, so I read her description carefully.  I do not deep fry mine.  I use a nonstick skillet with a little oil.  Fry it until it starts to puff up a little and then use a wooden spoon.  Place it in the middle and use tongs to fold over the side of the tortilla (to fold it into a moon shape).  Fry it until both sides are as crispy as you would like them.  Place on a paper towel lined plate when cooked.


2) Last week, I made some great tacos on a non-designated taco night.  I think it was a Thursday.  I made some chicken tacos.  The chicken was seasoned with pepper, sea salt, and rosemary.  I served the tacos with chicken, sour cream, and carmelized onions. They were yummy!  

Here's the recipe for the chicken.  

Put 1 tsp. dried rosemary, 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, and 1/2 tsp. cracked pepper in a Mortar bowl.  Use a pestal to crush it.  Slice 1 lb. chicken breasts into strips.  Place in a bowl and toss with 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil.  Then, add in the spice mixture and toss to coat.  Saute chicken in pan until cooked through.

Carmelized onions:

I thinly slice an onion.  Add 1 tsp. brown sugar and 1 Tbsp. canola oil.  Saute for 30-40 minutes over med. low heat.  If the heat is too high--they won't cook faster, they'll just burn unfortunately.  I know this from experience of trying to rush them!

This recipe is not in the taco cookbook, but I took the idea from the book.  There is a great recipe for Rosemary Chicken Tacos in the book.  I used it as a springboard.  The recipe in the cookbook calls for grilling the chicken and a creamy garlic spread (which sounds wonderful).  


When I made my version of Rosemary chicken tacos, I realized that this is what made me like this cookbook--it started my brain going.  I had put tacos in a box and not thought of them as anything other than meat or refried bean tacos.  This cookbook helped me see that there's a lot more to tacos than meets the eye!


Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this cookbook from Robert Rose Publishing for review.

Cooking for Special Diets

I think that cooking for someone with a special diet is often difficult.  We are so accustomed to cooking with a lot of dairy, meat, salt, and sugar in America.  I fall into this group wholeheartedly.  I try to be wise about all of these ingredients and eat them in moderation.  Two months ago, I wanted to decrease the sugar in my family's diet.  So, my answer was to look for some new recipes.  That's usually my first impulse when it comes to cooking.  When I have recipes I want to make and that sounds good, I'm much more likely to make them.  


Because I wanted to decrease the amount of sugar, I thought of cookbooks for diabetics, since they have to have diets low in sugar.  I requested two diabetic cookbooks for review.  I really enjoyed America's Best Cookbook for Kids with Diabetes.  I wrote a review here two months ago.  Since then, I've been sporadically cooking recipes from the second diabetes cookbook I have, 250 Essential Diabetes Recipes.

I've made a white sauce for my fish, the broccoli ranch salad, classic greek salad dressing, and an eggplant dip.  The white sauce needed spice.  The Broccoli salad was surprisingly good.  The Greek salad dressing was pretty salty, but good.  The eggplant dip was declined by my husband after a few bites.  He wasn't crazy about the strong celery taste to it.  


What I loved about the Kids cookbook was that the recipes had just enough spice for kids and enough to keep parents happy.  In contrast, the recipes from this cookbook were quite bland except for the broccoli salad.  I'm going to rabbit trail for just a second...


I have noticed that many cookbooks from the 1950s and 60s had recipes in them that were very basic and mild.  Usually the recipes didn't have a lot of spice in them or strong flavors.  Over the years, the number of cookbooks has greatly multiplied!  There are still those cookbooks with pretty mild dishes, but there are also many cookbooks that have plenty of spice in their recipes.  My tastes fall toward the more flavorful side.  So, with those random thoughts...


The recipes from this cookbook reminded me a lot of those blander recipes from days long ago.  They weren't bad recipes, but they simply weren't as packed as flavor as I'd like.  


But, there are many strengths of this cookbook.  1) The formatting, as with all Robert Rose cookbooks, is great.  The recipes are so easy to read and understand.  None of the recipes are very difficult to make.  There's a very helpful introduction at the front of the cookbook.  2) You can modify the recipes in this cookbook.  With special diets, food often needs to be bland so that it will settle with someone's stomach.  If that's what you're looking for, this cookbook will meet that need.  Also, if there's an ingredient (like my husband and celery), adjust the amount you add to the recipe.


If you're looking for a diabetes cookbook to check out of the library, look this one up.  The pictures are appealing and it's easy to use.  You may find that it's a good fit for you and it will give you a place to start.


Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this cookbook from Robert Rose for review.

The Sugar Problem and Our Kids

There's been a huge increase in obesity in children in the last decade.  It is a growing concern among doctors, educators, and parents.  I think it has an awful lot to do with the food we're feeding our children.  One of the culprits is sugar.


I was thinking about this and wondering how I could find some good kid-friendly recipes with less sugar when I realized that diabetics must eat less sugar.  I found a cookbook for kids with diabetes and was excited to see what was inside it!

The cookbook is America's Best Cookbook for Kids with Diabetes by Colleen Bartley.  It's published by Robert Rose Publishing.  Honestly, I really like how they format their cookbooks.  The fonts are very readable.  The spacing is great so that it's easy to follow a recipe and come back to the step you're on as you're cooking.  You don't lose track of what you're adding or what you're doing!


In this cookbook, there's a great introduction and discussion about sugars and artificial sweeteners.  The discussion about artificial sweeteners isn't very indepth, but it's a good introduction to the topic and gives some food for thought.


As I flipped through the cookbook, I immediately thought "What a great cookbook!"  The recipes are all what I what I'd say are "kid-friendly".  I have often noticed that well intentioned cookbooks for kids throw in a lot of healthy ingredients that kids are reticent to eat.  If you have amiable eaters, that's great.  If you don't, you may often find yourself in a pickle like I do.  


Over the past few weeks, I've made several recipes from this cookbook.  One night we had the fish sticks and the tartar sauce.  I was surprised at how well the coating stuck to the fish. I've had a lot of problems with that over the years!  Then, a few days ago I made the Baked Apple-Raisin Oatmeal.  Of course, my picky eaters won't eat raisins, so I subbed in mini-chocolate chips.  I know this adds in sugar, but for an afternoon snack, this was still a lower sugar alternative than cookies.  A friend of mine was over and ate some.  She commented how much she enjoyed them because it wasn't quite so sweet.  Another recipe I made was using the teriyaki sauce from the pork chop recipe.  I used it when we barbecued chicken.  It good and mild.  Each of the recipes were simple and quick to make.  


If you a) have picky eater and are looking for simple, healthy recipes or b) have a child with diabetes, then you might really like this cookbook.  I did.


Please note note that I received a complimentary copy of this cookbook for review from Robert Rose Publishing.